Re: I have some questions, about Mars and Nucluer war/Earth

Alan \ (uncleal0@ix.netcom.com)
11 Oct 1996 22:22:42 GMT

blackcat@worldaccess.nl wrote:
>
>Hi,
>
>I'm writing a short story, or at least planning to, but I have certain
>questions, I would be very grateful, if someone, who is a bit more
>knowledgable about these things, could perhaps answer them for me.
>
>Questions:
>
>-What would humans look like if they were to be 'adapted' or evolve on Mars?

Read the sf novel "Man Plus."

There is no apparent free oxygen on Mars, the temp hardly makes it above
freezing at the equator, and total atmospheric pressure is only a few
torr - below the vapor pressure of water at Earth ambient temperature.
The whole organism would need be armored against decompression. Solid
eyes like insect rhabdomeres would work, ears could be adapted... but
what would you use for metabolism? Even Robocop had to breathe.

>-How could they be adapted?

Robocop, with airlocks for eyes, nose and mouth. No exposed skin, An
oxygen tank.

A standard human with a strongly elastic, slightly water-vapor permeable
(cooling) garment and a pressurized oxygen helmet.

>-If humans were to be (at least partly), evolve on Mars, how long would >it take before you would notice certain physical (and perhaps mental) >changes?

Here's a cute one: The primary resonance of a conducting sphere is the
speed of light devided by its circumference. For Earth and its
ionosphere that gives you around 7 Hz, the Schumann resonance, which
coincidentally happens to be the frequency band of human cognitive
brainwaves.

Mars with its smaller radius must have a higher resonance frequency for
its ionosphere. Go much higher and you edge into frequencies typical of
human psychosis. This is not to state that the average astronaut is not
completely off his bean having qualified for and survived military
training.

>-Are there certian 'valuable' products on Mars, like certain metals etc?

Most of the Earth's light element crust is orbiting 240,000 miles
overhead - the moon. What remains is massively contaminated with heavy
metals (useful). Mars is probably very boring from an industrial
viewpoint. Biological artifacts might be curious, especially if the
chirality of nucleic acids, amino acids, or sugars are reversed in
isolable lifeforms.
>
>-Could Mars, eventually, be totally self-sufficient?

Terraform it - slam a few very large water ice comets into it, wait for
things to subside, seed with photosynthetic algae to get things going.
throw in a few thousand Environmentalists to keep an eye on things. In
the meanwhile, with all the telephone handpiece disinfectors scratching
their asses and circulating petititions on Mars, get Earth back on track.

>-How would one go about creating certain lifegiving qualities on Mars, >like water?

You could try prayer vigils. My vote goes to comet crashing.

>-What would the effects be on Earth if there were to be a globular Nucluer war?

Judging from Chernoble, a lot more wildlife. Judging from Saddam
Husein's firing of the Kuwati oil wells, not much else. Add a big dollop
of thyroid cancer (radioiodine) and leukemia (Sr-90)for children. What
did posterity ever do for you? Of course, the essentially instantaneous
breakdown of corporate farming, transportation, energy, communication,
sanitation, medical care, manufacture... would mean that all urban
centers would be nonviable except for small populations. Reproductive
warriors the world over living off the charity of the First World would
be caput, as would every large First World city. Figure Earth would
return to a pre-industrial population of a billion or two folks, average
lifespan 40 years.

> Would every bit of life be destroyed? Would there be certain safe
>zones, where the radiation couldn't penetrate? Would there be survivors for that matter, and how long could they survive before surcomming to the
>aftereffects?

Get real friendly with national politicans.
"We cannot allow a mine shaft gap!" (General Buck Turgidson to Dr.
Strangelove)

The stuff growing in proximity to deep sea vents, a mile underground in
brine channels, or in Lake Vostok in the Antarctic under 8000 feet of ice
really doesn't care about nuclear war or asteroid strikes. You probably
couldn't even sterilize landfills. Or cesspools. Or dirty sneakers.

>-Would one have to do to detoxify the Earth's atmosphere and ground to >get rid of these aftereffects, any theories?

Wait. A couple of hundred years to a few thousand ought to do it.

>I know many of these questions can only be answered speculativly, but I
>would appreciate any theories answering these or some of these questions.
>
>Thankyou kindly for reading and maybe a future response
>
>I live in hope

In my youth I set out to save the world. In my maturity I am determined
to consume it. We have come for a piece of all mankind.

-- 

Alan "Uncle Al" Schwartz

UncleAl0@ix.netcom.com ("zero" before @)

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